Got Any Flags

I have indeed arrived safe and sound though constantly hungry… here in Berlin. (watch this video for proof) The famous Tim is sitting to my right and most of the blog house has gone to sleep. I’ve no clue where I’m sleeping, so I’ll wait for everyone else to go to bed. Cept that some people are drinking like it’s 1999 and some teenagers just showed up at the door… so who knows when that will be.

Nevermind the shallow details, this blog is still about issues, regardless of how good the US plays or how awesome Ghana is.

I just pointed to an article in the Spiegel, about there being a run on German flags at all the shops. There have been quite a few podcasts recently covering the issue of the world cup and german nationalism. Interesting listening, for example, at Radio Open Source. Tim says this sort of thing was unheard of before this year. Normally someone running around with a German flag attached to their car would be socially cut-off… or scowled at.. or some sort of ostracizing.

A few berliner guests at the party tonight talked about this subject. They said it is pretty strange. Lots of mixed feelings about this new trend of being proud. I’ve heard Americans say its fine and good. But Americans are the last nationality I want to listen to about how much national pride is acceptable.

Naked Fussball

I digress. I’m in berlin for the first time in my life. Some of my favorite vloggers made the trip with me from Amsterdam and that makes it extra nice. Meanwhile, outside.. people drive around with flags attached to their cars. Beep beep beep.

bmtv10 Twas the Night Before Berlin

Click on the Photo below to be directed to my vlog about the journey that is about to begin. (this one is not in my feed for all those who hate video in my regular rss feed.)

More when I arrive in Berlin at some point tomorrow. Yeehaw.

Future Movers and Shakers of America

The semester is over, yet the fishtank spilleth over at work these days. A neverending wave of American and international students are here to participate in the plethora of summer programs that are offerred. The groups I notice most of all are the American ones.. boston university, nyu, minnesota… you can’t miss them as their discussions are at a volume louder than everyone else’s, at least according to my ears.

As I tried to get through this final day of work before the Berlin, I took extra notice of their conversations. Each table in the cantina was filled with a different group, who apparently were working on projects related to a class on conflict resolution. The terms kept repeating from table to table.. over and over, “peacekeepers”, “training”, “democracy”, “free elections”, “war crimes”… it was like being in a room full of future Bush speech writers.

Of course they’re much better than that, but after awhile the topics began to annoy me. Each person trying to outdo the other with bigger words and mentioning as many acronyms as possible. They spoke about democracy like a group of doctors collectively dispensing medicine that will heal the world. On and on and on… democracy democracy democracy. The cynic in me wanted to ask if when they were finished, they could find the first world some salvation from the terrible so-called democracies we’re locked into.

But why nag them for wanting to save the world, that at least is a noble wish that even I can support. The truely disturbing part about listening to the great minds of some of the countries top universities, is their obsession with themselves. The deliberate practice of trying to shmooze other professors while one-upping their classmates. I guess it’s practice for the future, when they intend to get into important jobs that could potentially help the world… and then proceed to focus on making themselves real famous and important.

In other news, Trinidad & Tobago deserved to win.

Ch-Ch-Changes

I’m fiddling with new looks this morning. Shield your eyes.

***Update*** That went terribly wrong. Nevermind.

almn060634

bm135 Allen Zerkin on Alternative Strategies for Ending AlQaeda’s War on the West

The title of this show alone makes alot of people angry. They have decided that war is the only way, and refuse to seek other solutions, even though the so-called war on terror has produced some very questionable results in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Allen Zerkin braves the firestorm of pro-war threats and condemnation to explore other ways, specifically related to how and why the west can engage AlQaeda to bring an end to this unwinnable fight. (note, unlike my usual length, this one goes to around 55 minutes)

Much of his discussion refers to this now infamous LA Times Editorial

I Speak a Different Kind of Football

I may or may not have mentioned that I’m involved in the We All Speak Football initiative that brings together a boatload of bloggers/vloggers/podcasters to produce content about the tournament and spend a few days partying in Berlin at some hipster penthouse apartment. Myself I leave for Berlin this weekend.

But contrary to the neverending amount of writing about the games and the players and the stadiums, I will be doing no such thing. While I like watching the matches; I suffer watching Portugal, I root for the Australians, I love the Côte D’Ivoireans, there are many aspects surrounding the games that I do not like.

First and foremost is the nationalism. The rabid, “we” beat “you”, rally around the flag, life will improve if we win, type spirit that surrounds so many games is not only alarming to me, it is sad. Sad because the world is a shadow of what it could be if governments and citizens had as much interest and invested as much money in infrastructure, education, science, etc, as they do in sporting events and of course – the other nationalistic passtime: making war.

I digress. Over the next few weeks, especially in my podcast and vlogs, I will be focusing on the theme of the social circumstances outside the games. Themes that address immigration and immigrant populations and their focus on the game. Economics, especially in the context of Berlin and Germany, and who benefits and who is left out in the cold during and after the tournament. And of course, the media, as the business of news reduces their attention on the real injustices and issues the effect people everywhere, and focus instead on people wearing funny makeup at the stadium in Leipzig.

All this and hopefully more, coming this month, so stay tuned, and better yet — subscribe to the feed. The first podcast of this series will be ready tonight later this week… unless I burst into flames during this Northern European heatwave.